System and method for managing media advertising enterprise data

ABSTRACT

A system and method for managing media advertising enterprise data. An enterprise data management (EDM) module can be configured to include a set of rules at an enterprise level to manage disparate and disconnected records. A scoring function with respect to each record can be computed based on the rules to determine the highest priority. The rules in association with the scoring function can be stored locally in an EDM database. A matching process can then be performed to accurately match similar records regardless of manual input, location, and format of the records in a distributed system. Each record can then be assigned with a parent enterprise advertiser. Such an optimization mechanism can interactively manage and report records at the enterprise level in a simple and efficient manner.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present U.S. Utility patent application claims priority pursuant to35 U.S.C. § 120 as a continuation of U.S. Utility application Ser. No.12/642,825 entitled “System and Method for Managing Media AdvertisingEnterprise Data,” filed Dec. 20, 2009, issuing as U.S. Pat. No.9,311,649 on Apr. 12, 2016, which is hereby incorporated herein byreference in its entirety and made part of the present U.S. Utilitypatent application for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments relate in general to the field of computers and similartechnologies and, in particular, to software utilized in this field.Embodiments are generally related to enterprise data-processing methodsand systems. In addition, embodiments relate to the management ofadvertising data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Advertising forms an important part of broadcast programming includingbroadcast video (e.g., television), radio, and printed media.Advertising management systems are distributed systems where localentities create and manage advertiser and agency content and records.Such systems often possess a large number of duplicate advertiser andagency records in their database(s). Integrating such distributedsystems into an enterprise environment can create duplicate entries,compatibility issues, connection difficulties, redundancy issues, andother significant inefficiencies.

Many distributed and disconnected legacy systems utilized by mediaoutlets typically include a large number of duplicate advertiser andagency records. One of the main problems associated with conventionaltechniques for managing such records is the lack of effective tools forscoring, evaluating, and comparing data with respect to a singleenterprise. For example, consider a user belonging to a marketassociated with an enterprise that creates a new advertiser named ‘BajaFresh’ and another user who belongs to another market associated withthe same enterprise creates a new advertiser ‘Baja Grill’ with a slightvariation in the name (i.e., “Baja”). Technically, both these advertisernames refer to the same master advertiser, which is ‘Baja Fresh’. Hence,it is important to have a single instance of an advertiser and notmultiple duplicates for management and reporting purposes. Anotherproblem associated with conventional advertising techniques involvesmanagement and reporting of large amounts of data by local users, whichis time consuming and inefficient.

Based on the foregoing, it is believed that a need exists for animproved system and method for managing media advertising enterprisedata. A need also exists for an improved method for configuring a set ofrules to determine a score function with respect to the advertisingdata, as described in greater detail herein.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of someof the innovative features unique to the disclosed embodiment and is notintended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the variousaspects of the embodiments disclosed herein can be gained by taking theentire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.

It is, therefore, one aspect of the disclosed embodiments to provide foran improved enterprise data-processing system and method.

It is another aspect of the disclosed embodiments to provide for animproved system and method for managing media advertising enterprisedata.

It is a further aspect of the disclosed embodiments to provide for animproved method and system for configuring a set of rules to determine ascore function with respect to the advertising data.

The aforementioned aspects and other objectives and advantages can nowbe achieved as described herein. A system and method for managing mediaadvertising enterprise data is disclosed herein. An EDM (Enterprise DataManagement) module can be configured to include a set of rules (e.g.,revenue rule, urgency rule, and workflow state rule) at an enterpriselevel to manage disparate and disconnected records associated with anentity (e.g., advertiser, agency, etc.). A scoring function with respectto each record can be calculated based on the aforementioned set ofrules to determine a highest priority. The rules in association with thescoring function can be stored locally in an EDM database. A matchingprocess can then be performed to accurately match similar recordsregardless of manual input, location, and format of the records in adistributed system. Each unmatched record can be assigned to a parententerprise entity. Such an optimization technique can be utilized tointeractively manage and report records at an enterprise level in asimple and efficient manner.

A newly created entity can be matched by the EDM module and assigned aunique enterprise ID. The entity records can be stored in the EDMdatabase. The rules can be defined based on key factors such as, forexample, the amount of revenue, the recentness of the order, and aworkflow state in order to determine the scoring function with respectto the unmatched record. The EDM module can be configured toautomatically assign the highest priority record to a particular user inorder to ensure that the most important entities are matched firstwithin the enterprise reporting. The revenue rule can affect the scoringfunction associated with the entity based on configurable revenueparameters such as, for example, minimum revenue, maximum revenue,minimum score, maximum score, weighting percentage, and so forth. Therevenue score can be calculated utilizing total order amounts betweenthe minimum and maximum revenue. In some embodiments, an administratorcan be authorized to change such parameters based on a particularbusiness priority.

The urgency rule represents the recentness of the order/proposal basedon both past and future dates and the most recently scheduled order canreceive a higher urgency score. Urgency parameters that can impact thescoring of the entity include, for example, minimum date, maximum date,minimum score, maximum score, weighting percentage, etc. The workflowstate represents the current state of the order/proposal in the workflowsuch as, for example, pending client approval, pending managementapproval, etc. If an advertiser possesses more than one order that fallswithin an urgency time-frame, each order can be scored separately andsummed.

The score associated with the entity can be calculated based on therules provided in a request message by a hub, which is described ingreater detail herein. The calculated score along with other entityinformation can be sent back to the hub in a response message. A userinterface, in associate with the EDM module, can serve to provide aunique and innovative technique for storing, retrieving, andmanipulating data from databases containing media-related data. Byutilizing such databases with a simplified storage and retrievalprotocol, the data contained therein can be effectively manipulated inreal time. The user interface provides access to the EDM module in asimple and straightforward manner, thereby significantly reducingtraining time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer toidentical or functionally-similar elements throughout the separate viewsand which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification,further illustrate the present invention and, together with the detaileddescription of the invention, serve to explain the principles of thepresent invention.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a data-processing system in whichan embodiment may be implemented;

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a software system including anoperating system, application software, and a user interface forcarrying out an embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a graphical representation of a network ofdata-processing systems in which aspects of the disclosed embodimentsmay be implemented;

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a media advertising enterprisedata management system, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a high-level flow chart of operations illustratinglogical operational steps of a method for managing media advertisingenterprise data, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a graphical user interface that displays userinformation associated with the EDM system, in accordance with thedisclosed embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates a high-level flow chart of operations illustratinglogical operational steps of a method for configuring a set of rules tomanage disparate and disconnected records, in accordance with thedisclosed embodiments; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a graphical user interface that displays rulesinformation associated with the EDM system, in accordance with thedisclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The particular values and configurations discussed in these non-limitingexamples can be varied and are cited merely to illustrate at least oneembodiment and are not intended to limit the scope thereof.

FIGS. 1-3 are provided as exemplary diagrams of data-processingenvironments in which embodiments of the present invention may beimplemented. It should be appreciated that FIGS. 1-3 are only exemplaryand are not intended to assert or imply any limitation with regard tothe environments in which aspects or embodiments of the disclosedembodiments may be implemented. Many modifications to the depictedenvironments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe disclosed embodiments.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the disclosed embodiments may be implementedin the context of a data-processing system 100 that includes, forexample, a central processor 101, a main memory 102, an input/outputcontroller 103, a keyboard 104, an input device 105 (e.g., a pointingdevice such as a mouse, track ball, pen device, etc.), a display device106, a mass storage 107 (e.g., a hard disk), and a USB (Universal SerialBus) peripheral connection 111. Additional input/output devices, such asa rendering device 108 (e.g., printer, scanner, fax machine, etc.), forexample, may be associated with the data-processing system 100 asdesired. As illustrated, the various components of data-processingsystem 100 can communicate electronically through a system bus 110 orsimilar architecture. The system bus 110 may be, for example, asubsystem that transfers data between, for example, computer componentswithin data-processing system 100 or to and from other data-processingdevices, components, computers, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates a computer software system 150 for directing theoperation of the data-processing system 100 depicted in FIG. 1. Softwareapplication 154, stored in main memory 102 and on mass storage 107,generally includes a kernel or operating system 151 and a shell orinterface 153. One or more application programs, such as softwareapplication 154, may be “loaded” (i.e., transferred from mass storage107 into the main memory 102) for execution by the data-processingsystem 100. The data-processing system 100 receives user commands anddata through user interface 153; these inputs may then be acted upon bythe data-processing system 100 in accordance with instructions fromoperating system module 151 and/or software application 154.

The following discussion is intended to provide a brief, generaldescription of suitable computing environments in which the system andmethod may be implemented. Although not required, the disclosedembodiments will be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a single computer. In most instances, a “module” constitutesa software application.

Generally, program modules include, but are not limited to, routines,subroutines, software applications, programs, objects, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types and instructions. Moreover, those skilled in the artwill appreciate that the disclosed method and system may be practicedwith other computer system configurations such as, for example,hand-held devices, multi-processor systems, data networks,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, networkedPCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, servers, and the like.

Note that the term module as utilized herein may refer to a collectionof routines and data structures that perform a particular task orimplements a particular abstract data type. Modules may be composed oftwo parts: an interface, which lists the constants, data types,variable, and routines that can be accessed by other modules orroutines; and an implementation, which is typically private (accessibleonly to that module) and which includes source code that actuallyimplements the routines in the module. The term module may also simplyrefer to an application such as a computer program designed to assist inthe performance of a specific task such as word processing, accounting,inventory management, etc.

The interface 153, which is preferably a graphical user interface (GUI),can serve to display results, whereupon a user may supply additionalinputs or terminate a particular session. In some embodiments, operatingsystem 151 and interface 153 can be implemented in the context of a“Windows” system. It can be appreciated, of course, that other types ofoperating systems and interfaces may be alternatively utilized. Forexample, rather than a traditional “Windows” system, other operationsystems such as, for example, Linux may also be employed with respect tooperating system 151 and interface 153. The software application 154 caninclude, for example, an EDM module 152 for managing media advertisingenterprise data in a business management application. The EDM module 152generally configures a set of rules at an enterprise level to managedisparate and disconnected records. EDM module 152 can includeinstructions such as those of method 500 and 700 respectively discussedherein with respect to FIG. 5 and FIG. 7.

FIG. 3 illustrates a graphical representation of a network ofdata-processing systems in which aspects of the disclosed embodimentsmay be implemented. Network data-processing system 300 is a network ofcomputers in which embodiments of the present invention may beimplemented. Network data-processing system 300 contains network 302,which is the medium used to provide communications links between variousdevices and computers connected together within network data-processingapparatus 300. Network 302 may include connections such as wire,wireless communication links, or fiber optic cables.

In the depicted example, server 304 and server 306 connect to andcommunicate with network 302 along with storage unit 308 (e.g. a memory,database, etc.). In addition, clients 310, 312, and 314 connect to andcommunicate with network 302. These clients 310, 312, and 314 may be,for example, personal computers or network computers. Data-processingsystem 100 depicted in FIG. 1 can be, for example, a client such asclient 310, 312, and/or 314. Alternatively, data-processing system 100can be implemented as a server such as servers 304 and/or 306, dependingupon design considerations.

In the depicted example, server 304 provides data such as boot files,operating system images, and applications to clients 310, 312, and 314.Clients 310, 312, and 314 are clients to server 304 in this example.Network data-processing system 300 may include additional servers,clients, and other devices not shown. Specifically, clients may connectto any member of a network of servers which provide equivalent content.

In the depicted example, network data-processing system 300 is theInternet with network 302 representing a worldwide collection ofnetworks and gateways that use the Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols to communicatewith one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone ofhigh-speed data communication lines between major nodes or hostcomputers, consisting of thousands of commercial, government,educational, and other computer systems that route data and messages. Ofcourse, network data-processing system 300 also may be implemented as anumber of different types of networks such as, for example, an intranet,a local area network (LAN), or a wide area network (WAN).

FIGS. 1-3 are thus intended as an example and not as an architecturallimitation with respect to particular embodiments. Such embodiments,however, are not limited to any particular application or any particularcomputing or data-processing environment. Instead, those skilled in theart will appreciate that the disclosed system and method may beadvantageously applied to a variety of system and application software.Moreover, the present invention may be embodied on a variety ofdifferent computing platforms, including Macintosh, UNIX, LINUX, and thelike.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of a media advertising EDM system400, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. Note that in FIGS.1-8, identical or similar blocks are generally indicated by identicalreference numerals. The EDM system 400 matches a market entity to acentral enterprise entity to permit consolidated reporting at anenterprise level. Note that the term “entity” refers generally toorganizations such as, for example, an “advertiser” or an “agency”. Theterm “entities” can be utilized herein to describe situations thataffect both advertisers and agencies with respect to, for example,unmatched entities.

The EDM system 400 can incorporate a data-processing system such as, forexample, the data processing system 100, along with a communicationmodule 450 and an enterprise and media management system 480. The dataprocessing system 100 can provide access to a set of users 440 withrespect to the enterprise and media management system 480.Data-processing system 100 depicted in FIG. 1 can be, for example, aserver. Other devices such as, for example, desktops, network devices,palmtops, mobile phones, etc., may also be included in the enterprisedata management system 400 as service providers, depending upon designconsiderations.

The data-processing system 100 can be configured to include an EDMmodule 152 and a user database 430. The EDM module 152 can interact withand manage data in various enterprise and media applications andmanagement solutions. The enterprise and media management system 480 canbe, for example, a VIERO®, a TransACT™, or FUSION platform that providejust-in-time advertising and extensibility services. The EDM module 152can run data-processing instructions under the credentials of a userlogged operating system and utilize an integrated login configuration inorder to authenticate a user such as, for example, user 440. Such amodule can thus include instructions, which are stored in a computermemory and then retrieved and executed by, for example, adata-processing system such as, for example the system 100 depicted inFIG. 1.

The EDM application 152 can authenticate the user 440 by accessing adomain login and security privilege information with respect to the user440. The domain login and security privilege information can be locallystored in the user database 430. When the user 440 accesses the system400, the EDM module 152 can automatically validate the domain login ofthe logged user against the domain user name stored in the user database430 via a gate keeper service 420 and then determine if the user 440 isauthorized to access the EDM module 152. If the domain user nameassociated with the user 440 exists, the EDM module 152 validates andprovides access to the required application.

The communication module 450 provides enterprise matching of distributedand disconnected entity records from user inputs. Such a process canaccurately match the similar entity records regardless of the manualinput, the location, and format of the records in the distributed system480. The system 400 organizes the disparate records utilizing a set ofrules and a matching process to efficiently manage unorganized,un-useable records in the enterprise record set. The system 400therefore provides a variety of capabilities for managing and reportingadvertising records at the enterprise level. The entire process canbegin with an initial set of user inputs and then adapt and learnbehavior as users interact with the system 400.

The communication module 450 generally includes a hub 460 associatedwith a hub database 445, hub services 465, and a hub queue 455. Notethat the hub 460 can be, for example, a network hub and/or a repeaterhub for connecting multiple twisted pair or fiber optic Ethernet devicestogether and thus forcing such devices and components to function as asingle network segment. Hubs can operate at, for example, the physicallayer (layer 1) of an OSI model and can form a multiport repeater.Repeater hubs also participate in collision detection, forwarding a jamsignal to all ports if a collision is detected.

The EDM module 152 interacts and manages data in the databases ofinstances associated with TransACT™ and FUSION. The communication module450 also includes an inter-switch link 415 that includes an inter-switchlink queue 470 and an advertiser service 475. The media managementsystem 480 associated with the EDM system 400 can include a radio fusionengine 485, a media database 490, and an EBS (Enterprise Bus Service)495. In general, a fusion enabled entity can be stored in the radiofusion engine 485. Other entities can be stored in advertiser services475 associated with the communication module 450. A newadvertiser/agency can be required to be matched by the EDM module 152and assigned a unique enterprise ID. Any key changes to theadvertiser/agency records require that the record(s) is re-matched andre-assigned and assigned a new enterprise ID.

If a record to be re-matched is received from the advertiser service475, the hub database 445 can scan the advertiser ID and/or fusion IDassociated with the record and update, for example, the name, revenuetype or industry code for the record. The changes with respect to therecord can be automatically updated in the hub database 445 based on theadvertiser ID/fusion ID and therefore when the user 440 logs into theEDM module 152, the changes can be visible. Additionally, when theadvertiser service 475 transmits a record to be reassessed to the hub460, it also transmits an ‘Old Enterprise ID’ in a response messagewhich can be helpful for the user 440 to re-match the entity record. Theproposals for advertisers/agents can be created in the radio fusionengine 485 for fusion enabled markets, and once the proposal becomes anorder, the records associated with the advertiser/agent can be movedfrom the advertiser service 475.

The EDM module 152 can pull the records from the advertiser services 475and the radio fusion engine 485 utilizing a windows service (e.g.,DPEDM) at regular time intervals. The advertiser services 475 and theradio fusion engine 485 provide a response message that includesunmatched entity records with respect to the user request. The user 440can further match the advertisers/agents with their respectiveenterprise entities and store the records into the media database 490associated with the media management system 480. The media database 490includes a ‘tAdvertiser’ and a ‘tAgency’ table that can be employed tostore the advertiser and agent records individually. If a record existsin both fusion engine 485 and the advertiser service 475, then thescores of both records can be combined in order to ensure that eachentity can possess a single score. All retrieved records can be furtherprioritized based on the associated score in the media database 490. Therecords with the highest score can be provided with a highest priorityand assigned to a parent enterprise advertiser/agency.

FIG. 5 illustrates a high-level flow chart of operations illustratinglogical operational steps of a method 500 for managing media advertisingenterprise data, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments. It can beappreciated that each of the steps or logical operations of the method500 depicted in FIG. 5 can be implemented by executing a programinstruction or a group of instructions in the data-processing system100. The instructions depicted in FIG. 5 can be provided by, forexample, a module or group of modules, as discussed earlier herein.

The EDM system 400 can be an automated system that selects theadvertisers/agents to match and provides a list of possible matches. Theuser 440 can further make a final decision to match theadvertiser/agency or to add it as a new enterprise advertiser/agency inthe EDM system 400. Unmatched advertisers/agencies can be presentedutilizing a ranking system that permits the user 440 to matchadvertisers with the highest revenue or market ranking. The system 400can provide accurate reporting of advertiser records that is requiredfor better management decisions and, therefore, enterprise advertiserinformation can be as reliable as possible.

A set of rules can be configured at an enterprise level to manage thedisparate and disconnected market entity records, as depicted at block510. A scoring function can be computed for each entity(advertiser/agency) associated with the EDM system 400 based on therules in order to determine a highest priority, as illustrated at block520. The similar entity records can be matched regardless of manualinput location and format of the entity records, as indicated at block530. Thereafter, each entity can be assigned to a parent enterpriseentity, as illustrated at block 540. The method and system describedherein can therefore provide an optimization mechanism for interactivelymanaging and reporting market entity records at the enterprise level ina simple and efficient manner. The enterprise advertiser is the parentadvertiser for identical advertisers in the markets. The advertiser canbe created in the EDM system 400 and the like market advertisers can belinked to it. The enterprise advertiser's order information frommultiple markets can be consolidated for enterprise reporting once alink has been set up.

FIG. 6 illustrates a GUI (Graphical User Interface) 600 that displaysuser information associated with the EDM system 400, in accordance withthe disclosed embodiments. Note that the user interface or GUI 600and/or 800 may be implemented utilizing a GUI such as, for example, theGUI 153 depicted in FIG. 1 herein, and may be provided by a module suchas, for example, module 154 (i.e., a software application). GUI 600and/or 800 can be displayed via a display device such as, for example,the monitor 106 depicted in FIG. 1.

GUI 600 and 800 can be implemented in the context of a GUI “window”.Note that in computing, a GUI “window” is generally a visual areacontaining some type of user interface (e.g., GUI 153). Such a “window”usually (but not always) possesses a rectangular shape, and displays theoutput of and may allow input to one or more processes. Such windows areprimarily associated with graphical displays, which can be manipulatedwith a mouse such as, for example, the input device 105 depicted inFIG. 1. A GUI using “windows” as one of its main “metaphors” is oftenreferred to as a windowing system.

An EDM administrator can access GUI 600 to manage users and monitoractivity. The GUI 600 can include functions such as, for example, toview existing EDM user information, add new users to access the EDMmodule, deactivate an active EDM user, and assign security privilegesfor each individual EDM user. The GUI 600 displays user cards such as acard 620 for all the existing EDM users in association with theirdetails by accessing an icon 630. If the user “clicks” the icon 630, theGUI 600 provides information associated with the user. The userinformation can include, for example, domain login (usually with CCRfollowed by four digit code for the market and end with user'sinitials), first name, last name, email, role (admin or general), andactive information. When displaying a user record, most information canbe transferred from the user's employee record to the EDM module 152.

The employee information can be retrieved through the gatekeeper service420 using a ‘BulkGetUsers’ web method. The ‘BulkGetUsers’ web methodreturns all the user records. EDM module 152 can run a daily process toacquire the data from the gatekeeper service 420 and store the data inthe ‘tUserSetting’ table associated with the EDM user database 430. Theactive EDM users and their details can only be displayed on the GUI 600.If the user “clicks” the add icon 640, the GUI 600 displays a graphical“pop-up” window 610 that permits an administrator to add new users. The‘add user’ pop-up window 610 provides an option to search users by lastname and add them to the list of active users that are authorized to usethe EDM module 152. Once the user has been added to the list of activeEDM users, they can be assigned a role such as admin or general in orderto determine the level of access to the application.

FIG. 7 illustrates a high-level flow chart of operations illustratinglogical operational steps of a method 700 for configuring a set of rulesat an enterprise level to manage disparate and disconnected records, inaccordance with the disclosed embodiments. The scoring rules provide anautomated means of ensuring that most important entities are consideredfirst within an enterprise reporting. The rules can be defined based onkey factors such as amount of revenue, recentness of the order/proposal,and workflow state. The rules determine the scoring of an unmatchedentity and each entity has an associated score which can determine itspriority. The EDM module 152 can be designed to automatically assign thehighest priority entity to a user.

A revenue rule with respect to an entity can be configured based onrevenue parameters, as illustrated at block 710. For example, if anadvertiser/agency possesses a proposal or order which has the highestdollar amount, then that advertiser/agency will be assigned the highestscore. As the revenue for the advertiser/agency goes down via a linearscale of $0 to $100,000, then the score attached falls down linearlyfrom 0 to 1000. The configurable revenue parameters can be, for example,minimum revenue, maximum revenue, minimum score, maximum score,weighting percentage, etc. An administrator can be authorized with theability to change these parameters based on the business priority. Thechanges to the parameters can impact the scoring of theadvertiser/agency.

The urgency rule that represents recentness of an order or proposal canbe configured based on both past and future dates, as indicated at block720. For example, an order that will be playing in the next two days canbe assigned a higher score compared to the order that would play in amonth. Similarly, the orders that played a few days ago can have ahigher score than the ones that played a month ago. The urgencyparameters that impact the scoring of an advertiser are minimum date,maximum date, minimum score, maximum score, and weighting percentage.

An urgency score for a past order can be calculated, as shown inequation (1).Max Value−Min Value/(Today's Date˜Min Date)=V1Max Value−[V1*(Today's Date˜End Date of Order)]=V2V2*Weighting=Score  (1)

The urgency score for a future order can be calculated, as indicated inequation (2).Max Value−Min Value/(Max Date˜Today's Date)=V1Max Value−[V1*(Start Date of Order˜Today's Date)]=V2V2*Weighting=Score  (2)

The workflow state that represents a current state of the order/proposalin a workflow can be computed, as illustrated at block 730. The workflowstate represents a current state of the order/proposal in aVIERO®/FUSION workflow. For example, the workflow state exist in FUSIONcan be, for example, draft, pending client approval, pending managementapproval, etc. When the order is injected in a softwareapplication/module such as, for example, VIERO®, then the workflow statecan be order in RMS. The scores can be assigned to each of theseworkflow states and the weighting for the workflow state can beconfigured.

A total scoring function with respect to the entity can be computedbased on the rules in order to determine the entity with a highestpriority, as illustrated at block 740. The rules in association with thescoring function can be stored locally in the advertiser database 430,as depicted at block 750. The advertiser/agency data can be pulled froma software application/module such as, for example, VIERO®/FUSION on anhourly and nightly basis. The current rules that are stored in thedatabase 430 can be sent in a request message by the hub 460 to themedia management system 480. The media management system 480 cancalculate the scores for all the advertisers/agencies based on the rulesprovided in the request message by the hub 460. The calculated scorealong with the other advertiser/agency information can be sent back tothe hub 460 in the response message. The advertiser/agency can be sortedbased on a scoring priority, as indicated at block 760. The user can beautomatically assigned with a highest priority advertiser/agency, asillustrated at block 770.

The exemplary set of rules depicted in TABLE. 1 can be applied toadvertisers and agencies and the rules can be based on proposals andorders that are received from the advertisers. The bolded items can beconfigurable at the enterprise level. The numbers and values provided inTABLE. 1 are suggested initial values. The scoring can be accomplishedseparately by, for example, FUSION and transACT software applicationsand/or other appropriate software modules. If multiple applicationsreturn data for the same advertiser during a data pull operation, theHUB 460, which is the centralized system that interfaces andinterconnects with the disparate disconnected media management system480, can determine which data set can be employed to act as theenterprise record set. If an advertiser has more than one proposal ororder that falls within the urgency time-frame (a time period in whichthe advertiser wishes to advertise), each proposal/order can be scoredseparately and then each proposal and subsequent order can be summed.The FUSION and transACT applications can communicate the sum of theadvertiser-proposal and subsequent order scores to the HUB 460. Newadvertisers that are entered without a proposal or order can have aninitial score of 0.

TABLE 1 Min Max Min Max Weighting Rule Value Value Score Score 90 Valueof $0 $100,000  0 1000 Proposal/Order  5 Urgency: Time from Past Futre 0 1000 Last Day of Calendar Calendar Order/Time to First Date Date Dayof Order Workflow States → Draft Pending Pending Order Client Mgmt inRMS  5 Workflow State 50 100 200  400

For example, consider company X which is an existing advertiser with$650,000 in revenue (total cost) for an order that possess an end dateof 8/24/08. Further, assume a current date of 8/25/08 and an urgencytime-frame with an urgency window having a 1/1/08 minimum and 12/31/08maximum. The revenue can be calculated utilizing a linear scale of rangefrom 0-$100K. The revenue score can be calculated as indicated inequation (3) as follows:1000(max score)−0(min score)/100000(max value)−0(min value)=0.01(read as1/100 or 1 point for every $100)$650,000 in revenue=1000 points×90 weighting=90,000 points  (3)

The calculation for revenue employs 1000 points because it has reachedand surpassed the maximum value of $100,000. The urgency score can becalculated utilizing the equations (1) and (2) as follows.1000(max value)−0(min value)/238(total number of days between today'sdate and the min date)=4(V1)1000(max value)−[4(V1)*1(today's date˜end date)]=996(V2)996(V2)*5=4980 points  (4)

The workflow state can be an order in RMS and can be calculated asillustrated below in equation (5).400 point×5 weighting=1500 point  (5)

Hence the total score can be calculated as indicated in equation (6) asfollows:90,000+4980+1,500=96,480  (6)

Consider another example wherein “Scott's Shirts,” which is a newadvertiser with a proposal in place with a pending review by managementthat is worth $5,000 (total cost) and is scheduled to run on 8/28/08.The current date is 8/25/08 and the urgency time-frame is 1/1/08 at aminimum and 12/31/08 at a maximum. The new order placed with value oforder can be calculated utilizing a linear scale of range from 0-$100K.The revenue score can be calculated as indicated in equation (7) asfollows:1000(max score)−0(min score)/100000(max value)−0(min value)=0.01(read as1/100 or 1 point for every $100)$5,000 order=50 points×90 weighting=4,500  (7)

The urgency can be calculated utilizing the equations (1) and (2) asfollows.1000(max value)−0(min value)/129(total number of days between the maxdate and today's date)=8(V1)1000(max value)−[8(V1)*3(start date˜today's date)]=976(V2)976(V2)*5=4880 points  (8)

The workflow state can be an order in RMS and can be calculated asillustrated below in equation (9).Review by Management=200 points×5 weighting=1,000.  (9)

Hence the total score can be calculated as indicated in equation (10) asfollows:4,500+4,880+1,000=10,480  (10)

The total score can be employed to rank the entity with other entitiesand to determine the order in which it appears for matching. The higherthe order, the sooner the entity can be selected to appear in a workflowscreen. Example default values for the scoring parameters areillustrated in TABLE 2:

TABLE 2 Configuration Default Rules Parameters Values Revenue ParametersWeighting % (a) 75% Minimum Revenue 0 ($) Maximum Revenue 10 Million ($)Minimum Score 0 Maximum Score 1000 Urgency Parameters Weighting % (b)20% Minimum Date Jan. 1, 2007 Maximum Date Dec. 31, 2008 Minimum Score 0Maximum Score 1000 Workflow Parameters Weighting % ©  5% Order in RMS400 Pending Management 200 Pending Client 100 Draft 50

Example boundary values for the scoring parameters are illustrated inTABLE. 3 below.

TABLE 3 Configuration Rules Parameters Min Limit Max Limit RevenueWeighting % (a) 0% 100% Parameters Minimum Revenue >=0 ($) <10 Million($) Maximum Revenue >0 ($) <=10 Million ($) Minimum Score >=0 <1000Maximum Score >0 <=1000 Urgency Weighting % (b) 0% 100% ParametersMinimum Date Current Date Current Date −5 Yrs +5 Yrs Maximum DateCurrent Date Current Date −5 Yrs +5 Yrs Minimum Score >=0 <1000 MaximumScore >0 <=1000 Workflow Weighting % © 0% 100% Parameters Order inRMS >=0 <=1000 Pending Management >=0 <=1000 Pending Client >=0 <=1000Draft >=0 <=1000

FIG. 8 illustrates a GUI 800 that displays rules information associatedwith the EDM system 400, in accordance with the disclosed embodiments.As indicated in FIG. 8, the graphical user interface 800 functions as agraphically displayed rules screen that permits an administrator tomanage the rules which drive the scoring of an advertiser/agency orother entity. An administrator can utilize the GUI 800 to, for example,modify the configuration parameters 820 associated with each rule. Theparameters 820 such as weighting percentage, minimum revenue, maximumrevenue, minimum score, maximum score, minimum date, maximum date, etc.,are user input text fields. The user can implement the required changesvia the GUI 800 and select a ‘Save’ icon 810 in the toolbar associatedwith the GUI 800. The ‘Recent Revenue Values’, ‘Recent Urgency Values’,‘Recent Workflow Values’ buttons 830, 840, and 850 permit a user toreset the individual parameter values to the last saved values in thedatabase 430. If the user attempts to navigate to another graphical userinterface screen without saving the changes or close the GUI user 800,then a “pop up” can be graphically displayed via the GUI 800.

The user interface 600 and 800, in association with the EDM module 152,provide a unique and innovative approach for storing, retrieving, andmanipulating data from existing databases containing media-related data.By utilizing the database with a simplified storage and retrievalprotocol, data contained therein can be effectively manipulated in realtime. The disclosed graphical user interface 800 can provide access tosignificantly reducing training time. The EDM module 152 can provide ateam of users with the ability to match duplicate advertiser and agencyrecords to one master record. The system 400 provides a seamless pathfor “isolated” or distributed media records to integrate into a commonad management and display.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and describedwith reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that various changes in form and detail can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Furthermore, as used in the specification and the appended claims, theterm “computer” or “system” or “computer system” or “computing device”includes any data processing system or apparatus including, but notlimited to, personal computers, servers, workstations, networkcomputers, main frame computers, routers, switches, a Personal DigitalAssistants (PDA), cellular telephones, Smartphones, and/or any othersystem/device capable of processing, transmitting, receiving, capturingand/or storing data.

It will be appreciated that variations of the above-disclosed and otherfeatures and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirablycombined into many other different systems or applications. Also, thatvarious presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives,modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequentlymade by those skilled in the art which are also intended to beencompassed by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A server device comprising: a processor andassociated memory implementing an enterprise data management module, theenterprise data management module configured to organize and match aplurality of disconnected records associated with market-level entitiesto a record associated with a common enterprise-level entity, whereinthe disconnected records are stored in disparate management systemsemployed across multiple different markets; a communications interfaceconfigured to: obtain a set of scoring rules, the set of scoring rulesincluding a workflow-state scoring rule, wherein a workflow staterepresents a current state of an order within a workflow; transmit arequest message to an enterprise-level management system, wherein therequest message includes the set of scoring rules to be used by a mediamanagement system included in the enterprise-level management system;receive, from the enterprise-level management system, scores associatedwith the plurality of disconnected records, the scores being calculatedby the media management system based on the set of scoring rulesincluding the workflow-state scoring rule, wherein the scores associatedwith the plurality of disconnected records indicate priorities ofentities associated with the plurality of disconnected records; and theprocessor further configured to present, to a user of the server device,the entities associated with the plurality of disconnected records in anorder determined based on the priorities.
 2. The server device of claim1, further comprising: a local user database storing domain login andsecurity privilege information associated with the user of the serverdevice; a gatekeeper module; and wherein the enterprise data managementmodule is further configured to validate a domain login provided by theuser against the domain login and security privilege information storedin the local user database via the gatekeeper module.
 3. The serverdevice of claim 1, wherein the enterprise data management module isfurther configured to: interact with and manage data from databasesassociated with a plurality of instances of a single managementplatform.
 4. The server device of claim 1, wherein the enterprise datamanagement module is further configured to: interact with and managedata from databases associated with a plurality of different managementplatforms.
 5. The server device of claim 4, wherein the enterprise datamanagement module is further configured to: match records newly added toa first management platform to the enterprise-level entity; and assign aunique enterprise identifier to the records newly added.
 6. The serverdevice of claim 5, wherein the enterprise data management module isfurther configured to: re-match records having changes determined to bekey; and assign a new enterprise identifier to records that have beenre-matched.
 7. A method for use in a server device, the methodcomprising: implementing an enterprise data management module using aprocessor and associated memory, the enterprise data management moduleorganizing and matching a plurality of disconnected records associatedwith market-level entities to a record associated with a commonenterprise-level entity, wherein the disconnected records are stored indisparate management systems employed across multiple different markets;obtaining a set of scoring rules from a memory configured to implement adatabase, the set of scoring rules including a workflow-state scoringrule, wherein a workflow state represents a current state of an orderwithin a workflow; transmitting, via a network interface, a requestmessage to an enterprise-level management system, wherein the requestmessage includes the set of scoring rules to be used by a mediamanagement system included in the enterprise-level management system;receiving, from the enterprise-level management system, scoresassociated with the plurality of disconnected records, the scores beingcalculated by the media management system based on the set of scoringrules including the workflow-state scoring rule, wherein the scoresassociated with the plurality of disconnected records indicatepriorities of entities associated with the plurality of disconnectedrecords; and presenting to a user of the server device, using theprocessor and associated memory, the entities associated with theplurality of disconnected records an order determined based on thepriorities.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising: domain loginand security privilege information associated with the user of theserver device in a local user database storing; and validating, via agatekeeper service, a domain login provided by the user against thedomain login and security privilege information stored in the local userdatabase.
 9. The method of claim 7, further comprising: interacting withand managing data from databases associated with a plurality ofinstances of a single management platform.
 10. The method of claim 7,further comprising: interacting with and managing data from databasesassociated with a plurality of different management platforms.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, further comprising: matching records newly added toa first management platform to the enterprise-level entity; and assign aunique enterprise identifier to the records newly added.
 12. The methodof claim 11, further comprising: re-matching records with key changes;and assigning a new enterprise identifier to records that have beenre-matched.
 13. A non-transitory computer readable medium tangiblyembodying a program of instructions, the program of instructionsincluding at least one instruction to implement an enterprise datamanagement module, the enterprise data management module organizing andmatching a plurality of disconnected records associated withmarket-level entities to a record associated with a commonenterprise-level entity, wherein the disconnected records are stored indisparate management systems employed across multiple different markets;at least one instruction to transmit, via a network interface, a requestmessage to an enterprise-level management system, wherein the requestmessage includes a request for scores associated with the disconnectedrecords, the request including a set of scoring rules to be used by amedia management system included in the enterprise-level managementsystem to calculate the scores associated with the disconnected records,and the scoring rules including a workflow-state scoring rule, wherein aworkflow state represents a current state of an order within a workflow;at least one instruction to receive, from the enterprise-levelmanagement system, scores associated with the plurality of disconnectedrecords, the scores being calculated by the media management systembased on the set of scoring rules including the workflow-state scoringrule, wherein the scores associated with the plurality of disconnectedrecords indicate priorities of entities associated with the plurality ofdisconnected records; and at least one instruction to present, to a userof the enterprise data management module, the entities associated withthe plurality of disconnected records in an order determined based onthe priorities.
 14. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim13, further comprising: at least one instruction to interact with andmanage data from databases associated with a plurality of instances of asingle management platform.
 15. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 13, further comprising: at least one instruction tointeract with and manage data from databases associated with a pluralityof different management platforms.
 16. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 15, further comprising: at least oneinstruction to match records newly added to a first management platformto the enterprise-level entity; and assign a unique enterpriseidentifier to the records newly added.
 17. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 16, further comprising: at least oneinstruction to re-match records with key changes; and at least oneinstruction to assign a new enterprise identifier to records that havebeen re-matched.